Elderly woman branded witch flogged in Enugu community

An elderly woman was subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment after she was accused of witchcraft in Amanfu, Ugbawka, Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State.

A viral video showed the woman being paraded with palm fronds tied around her head, while she was allegedly forced to eat faeces and had same smeared on here.

Reacting to the incident, Advocacy for Alleged Witches (AfAW), called on the Enugu State Government to arrest and prosecute those who subjected the woman to such degrading treatment.

In a statement issued at the weekend to journalists in Owerri by its Director, Dr. Leo Igwe, the organisation said upon receiving the video on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, it alerted the police, the Enugu State chapters of the National Human Rights Commission, the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), journalists and civil society groups, and deployed a regional advocate to verify the incident.

The advocate, who visited the community on Thursday, October 8, 2026, reported that the woman was accused of pouring faeces on the grave of her stepson’s late wife.

The report stated that the woman was apprehended by villagers, and when confronted, she allegedly admitted to the act, claiming the deceased had been appearing to her in her dreams to torment her, and that pouring faeces on the grave was an attempt to stop the torment. She, however, denied k!lling the deceased.

The parish priest of Emmanuel Anglican Church, Amanfu, Pastor Michael Chukwunonso Ezeude, where the woman reportedly ran to for safety, confirmed to AfAW that about 30 women from the community stormed the church and demanded her release to face “the laws of the community.”

All efforts by the cleric to intervene were said to have been resisted.

The elderly woman, who later narrated her ordeal to the AfAW advocate, showed injuries she allegedly sustained from flogging by the mob and appealed for justice.

Condemning the act, Dr. Igwe described the treatment of the woman as barbaric, criminal and a clear case of gender-based violence rooted in superstition.

"Advocacy for Alleged Witches condemns the abuse and maltreatment of this woman. Enugu State authorities should take custody of this woman, take her to a hospital for medical examination, and provide her counseling and rehabilitation. The authorities should arrest and prosecute those who mobbed and dehumanized her,” Igwe said.

He added that dream experiences are not real, prophetic or evidence of witchcraft, but products of the subconscious during sleep, urging Nigerians to abandon superstition-based abuses and embrace science, reason and critical thinking.

AfAW said it is working with the National Human Rights Commission, the Ministry of Gender and the police to ensure that justice is served and that such degrading acts do not repeat in the state.